The Panama Canal: Path to Global Destiny
Patrick Naughton
Penn Alexander School
Overview
Rationale
Historical Background
Objectives
Strategies
Classroom Activities
Annotated Bibliography
Student Resources
Content Standards
Overview
This curriculum unit will examine the politics, the construction, the working conditions,
and the global impact of the Panama Canal. When the U.S.S Maine exploded in Havana
Harbor in 1898, killing 260 American sailors, the citizens of the United States had to wait
two months for a response. This delay was due to the 12,000 mile journey that the U.S.S.
Oregon had to make in order to reach Havana. The need for a short cut had never been
clearer. If the Panama Canal had existed in 1898, that 12,000 mile journey would have
been cut down to 4,000 miles.
The U.S.S Maine was one of the first American battleships and cost $2 million dollars to
build in the 1890’s. It was stationed in Havana to protect American interests during the
Cuban rebellion. During this time the Spanish had control over the island of Cuba, but
the Cubans had been fighting for independence for nearly a decade. The American
interests that the Maine was protecting included real estate and exports. The United
States purchased about 80% of all Cuban goods.
On February 15th, 1898 the U.S.S Maine exploded under mysterious circumstances. A
Naval court found that a Spanish mine was responsible for the explosion but did not say
that it was done intentionally. The court of public opinion and congress directly blamed
Spain, coupled with the harsh treatment of the Cubans during the rebellion and the
protection of American interests led to the Spanish-American War. The treaty that ended
the Spanish-American War reinforced the need for a canal because the Philippines were
now property of the United States.
The Panama Canal was not an American idea. The French originally began construction
in 1881, but abandoned the project due to engineering issues and worker fatalities. The
project needed someone who would stop at nothing for this monumental task to be
completed. When President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, America had found the
man for the job. That man was Theodore Roosevelt.
Canals are very simply defined as a human made waterway. In this case the Panama
Canal is a human made waterway that connects the Caribbean Sea, which is connected to
the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. This is important for two reasons. President
Roosevelt and others thought it was important for the protection of the country as well as
for the expansion of trade.
At this time the United States was trying to open up trade with Asia, but the United States
biggest port was on the east coast. So it was important that the amount of time to
transport goods was shortened. Trade is defined as the exchange of goods and services
between countries and ports are the places where the ships carrying the goods are docked.
This was a time when goods were mainly transported by boat. The highway system had
not been developed and Fed Ex was three-quarters of a century away from overnight
delivery.
Rationale
My reason for creating this curriculum unit focused on the Panama Canal is my belief
that modern empire and naval superiority are directly related. Part of this unit is for the
students to attempt to define empire. This term seems simple enough to define until one
actually tries to do this. What are the elements of empire? Is it financial? Is it about
control? These are the questions that we will attempt to answer throughout this unit.
For the United States the ability to exert control over the Asian Continent, which
Roosevelt wanted to do, a strong navy was needed. Naval superiority is defined as a
countries ability to dominate the seas with military power. During the early 20th century,
the United States replaced Great Britain as the premier naval power. In order for the
United States to achieve and maintain naval superiority they needed a quicker way to
move their navy between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This is why a Central
American passage became necessary. It is important for my students to make the
connection between the United States role in the world today with that of President
Roosevelt and his vision of expansion.
This curriculum unit will be designed for my 8th grade Social Studies classes. In the
eighth grade year I start with early colonial America and go as far as I can. My classes
are very diverse. My students range in abilities from students with learning disabilities to
those who are mentally gifted. My students also come from very diverse backgrounds,
giving them a variety of prior knowledge. About 20% participate in the ESL program at
school. To reach all students, this curriculum unit will contain a variety of activities
designed to help all students meet the desired outcomes.
The reason for using both primary and secondary sources is it gives students a variety of
text in which to work with. This also aligns with the common core’s use of informational
text and using evidence to support a response. Secondary sources allow students to get a
precise overview of the events at hand, while a primary source allows students to access
the feelings and thoughts of the time period. The PBS film about the Panama Canal is
very well done and will give visual learners a chance to gather information in their ideal
setting.
Students will start off the unit by using a map to identify the distance that was traveled by
the U.S.S. Oregon. This will allow students to grasp the immensity of the distance that
was being cut out of a trip by using the Panama Canal. Using maps are a very important
piece to a social studies lesson because geography is not a topic that is consistently taught
in school.
The students culminating assessment will be a journal writing activity that will
demonstrate their understanding of the struggles that the workers encountered during the
massive construction project. It is important for my students to see the struggles that the
workers faced throughout construction. I decided not to have them construct a canal
because of the amount of time that it would require and concern over the process. The
engineering aspect of the canal will be discussed in a lesson using a cartoon that is
available on the PBS website.
Historical Background
The French originally began construction in 1881. Ferdinand de Lesseps led the
French project. Who famously led the construction of the Suez Canal, which connected
the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. However, the projects could not be more
different. The area where the Suez Canal was built was flat, and dry and there were
fewer unknowns. The area in which the Panama canal would be built featured changes in
elevation, snakes, mosquitos that were carrying malaria and yellow fever, and it rained
for nine months a year. The obstacles led to the deaths of nearly 20,000 workers, mainly
West Indian. The mounting fatalities and a bribery scandal led to the French abandoning
the canal in 1889.
When the U.S.S Maine exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898, killing 260 American
sailors, the citizens of the United States had to wait two months for a response. This
delay was due to the 12,000 mile journey that the U.S.S. Oregon had to make in order to
reach Havana. The need for a short cut had never been clearer. If the Panama Canal had
existed in 1898, that 12,000 mile journey would have been cut down to 4,000 miles.
The project needed someone who would stop at nothing for this monumental task
to be completed. When President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, America had
found the man for the job. That man was Theodore Roosevelt. He was determined to
pick up the project where the famed French Engineer had left off. The first obstacle
would be securing the land needed for the canal. This would require some questionable
politics.
Roosevelt was a supporter of the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was an
American foreign policy that recognized any European action in Central or South
America as a threat to the United States, forcing the government to act. Its purpose was
to keep European Nations from expanding their colonial empires in those areas. It also
states that the United States would not interfere with any preexisting colonies. Roosevelt
increased America’s position in enforcing the Monroe Doctrine by declaring the United
States Military as the “international police power”. This has become known as the
Roosevelt Corollary.
Panama during this time was a providence of Columbia. So Roosevelt had to
negotiate with the Columbian government. This did not prove easy. The Columbian
Parliament voted unanimously against the United States proposal. After the Columbians
denied Roosevelt he considered invading Columbia, even sending spies to gather
information about the possibility. Roosevelt was also aware of a group of Panamanians
who were ready to rebel against the Columbian government and seek independence.
Roosevelt’s administration believed this was the best idea. So they financially supported
a revolt and recognized Panama as a sovereign nation. Roosevelt would have his land, a
ten-mile wide tract across the Isthmus of Panama.
Now that the land had been secured, Roosevelt wanted digging to start
immediately. Picking up exactly where the French had left off. According to the
engineer in charge of the project, this was not ideal. He wanted to take a year to plan.
Roosevelt did not grant is request and insisted on the start of construction. The
impatience of the President combined with the intense government scrutiny led to
considerable delay, constant worker turnover and the resignation of the head engineer.
John Stevens was selected to take over the stalled project. He had considerable
experience in complex engineering projects working on the transcontinental railroad. He
insisted on taking the time to plan and rework the infrastructure that was pivotal in
moving the massive amount of earth that needed to be relocated. His main focus was
reworking the Panama railroad. He knew that the only way the project could remain on
schedule was if trains could keep up with construction. To insure they would he used
new technology that allowed tracks to be moved in large pieces rather than taking them
apart before they were moved. This saved incredible amount of time.
With the infrastructure in place, Stevens shifted his attention to the plan. He
recognized that the sea level canal that was attempted by the French and the American
government was insisting on was destined for failure. His vision of a step canal using a
system of locks was the only way the project would work. This change of plan would
require approval from the top. So he boarded a boat and sailed for Washington D.C.,
where he would meet with the President. After listening to his plan, Roosevelt gave his
blessing and construction was ready to resume.
The work force in Panama was about one-fifth American, and the rest West
Indian. The workers faced horrendous conditions both on the job and in their quarters.
This was before there were any safety regulations. Worker fatalities became so common
that a railroad line was built directly into a cemetery to save time. Besides the dangers of
working with heavy equipment, rocks, and explosions, workers also faced outbreaks of
yellow fever and malaria.
When it seemed that yellow fever would destroy America’s chance of completing
the Panama Canal, they appointed Dr. William C. Gorgas to deal with the outbreak. He
had gained his experience in the military and had survived yellow fever, developed
immunity, and made it his mission to destroy the viral disease. His experience had led
him to concentrate his effort on the mosquito. He invested a lot of money in destroying
the places that mosquitos bred, used extermination tactics within the dwellings of the
towns, and screened in many places, including rooms of patients with yellow fever. His
tactics, although considered unconventional and questioned by many, led to an enormous
success. Yellow fever was wiped out in the Panama region.
The workers of the Panama Canal also lived in a very segregated community,
mirroring the American South. White American workers were classified as gold and the
Non-White American workers as silver. The gold class was paid in gold, had free
laundry service, paid days off, and other privileges that were not shared by the silver
class. Although the silver class was aware of their mistreatment, there was little that
could be done, since they were still making more that if they were working on a
plantation in the West Indies.
As the years passed and the struggles continued, morale of everyone involved had
reached a low point. Roosevelt decided he would visit the canal. He became the first
President of the United States to leave the country while in office. His visit had a great
impact on the workers and the citizens at home that had become weary of the project.
Morale would remain high throughout the project. If with the resignation of Stevens, the
project continues and eventually succeeds. After ten years, $350 million dollars, and the
deaths of over 5,000 workers the Canal is opened on August 15th, 1914.
Objectives
This unit is intended for my eighth grade classes that consist of 24 students and meet on
Mondays for 45 minutes and two other days of the week for 90 minutes. In my
classroom I have access to a Promethean Board. This allows me to bring up maps and
other materials and highlight what I want the students to be concentrating on. The
students can also be called up to the board and interact with different texts or programs.
The board also acts as a movie screen when needed.
The objectives of this unite include the following:
 Students will be able to identify the reasons for the Panama Canal in order
to analyze primary and secondary sources.
 Students will be able to analyze the political maneuvering of Theodore
Roosevelt in order to analyze primary and secondary sources.
 Students will be able identify the struggles of the workers in order to write
a first person narrative.
 Students will be able to identify the methods used to eradicate yellow
fever in order to analyze cause and effect.
 Students will be able to analyze the problems encountered during
construction and how they were solved.
 Students will be able to define empire and assess how the Panama Canal
contributed to America’s empire.
Strategies
My students have been taught how to read and annotate primary and secondary materials.
They focus on new vocabulary, main ideas, and questions that they have while reading.
This strategy will continue throughout the curriculum unit. I usually assign the
annotations to be done for homework. When the students return, I check their
annotations and then have a graded class discussion. We generally use Socratic Seminar
for our class discussions.
Socratic Seminar is a class discussion that allows students to engage in an intellectual
dialogue about a text. It gives students an open forum to share different points of view
and answer open-ended questions in the hope of finding the deep meaning of a text.
There are many different ways to assess a Socratic Seminar. The Internet has countless
rubrics that should be examined to fit your population of students.
Another strategy that I like to use in the classroom is Think-Pair-Share. I like to use this
in the beginning of class, usually on a opinion type question. This gets the students
minds working and allows them to interact with their classmates. Think-Pair-Share starts
by the student answering the question on their own, you may have them write it down if
you wish. After a certain time period, this will vary based on complexity of the question,
you ask the students to share their response with their neighbor. After students have
shared their response with a neighbor they are then asked to share with the whole class. I
usually have them share their partners answer, not their own, to make sure they were
listening to what their partner said.
When using small group instruction I use a variety of methods in setting up my groups.
My groups are set up randomly, assigned, or I allow the students to pick. It really
depends on the activity. When I assign groups I take into consideration ability level and
behavior. Ability level can differ based on the assignment. For example, if it is an
assignment where public speaking is required a student who is academically strong, and
not a strong speaker will need to be grouped with someone who is a strong speaker.
Classroom Activities
Lesson 1: Introduction
Overview: This lesson is designed to give a worldview of the late 19th century, discuss
the idea of empire, and begin to examine the forces that pushed for the Panama Canal.
When the U.S.S Maine exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898, killing 260 American
sailors, the citizens of the United States had to wait two months for a response. This
delay was due to the 12,000 mile journey that the U.S.S. Oregon had to make in order to
reach Havana. The need for a short cut had never been clearer. If the Panama Canal had
existed in 1898, that 12,000 mile journey would have been cut down to 4,000 miles.
Objective: Students will be able to identify the reasons for the Panama Canal in order to
analyze primary and secondary sources.
Warm Up: A car is traveling from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. The distance
between the two cities is 140 miles. The car is traveling at an average speed of 62 mph.
How long will the trip take?
Direct Instruction: Students will be provided with definition such as manifest destiny and
the Monroe Doctrine. Students will be required to take notes based on the discussion of
the worldview of the 19th century. This discussion will focus on the United States’
activities in the Pacific as well as imperialism.
Guided Practice: Students will be asked to create their own definition for empire and
participate in a think-pair-share activity. The class will then review the Do Now.
Paired Instruction: Working in pairs, students will plot the course that the U.S.S Oregon
followed to reach Cuba after the explosion to the U.S.S Maine on a map. They will
determine the mileage and then use their math skills to determine how long the journey
would take. The class will then discuss the problems with the length of time that required
for the U.S.S. Oregon to reach its destination.
Independent Practice: Using what they learned from the map activity, students will write
a paragraph describing the advantages that the Panama Canal would afford the United
States.
Homework: Students will read and annotate pg. 249-250 of The Path Between the Seas
by David McCullough and be prepared to discuss in class tomorrow.
Lesson 2:
Overview: Panama during this time was a providence of Columbia. So Roosevelt had to
negotiate with the Columbian government. This did not prove easy. The Columbian
Parliament voted unanimously against the United States proposal. After the Columbians
denied Roosevelt he considered invading Columbia, even sending spies to gather
information about the possibility. Roosevelt was also aware of a group of Panamanians
who were ready to rebel against the Columbian government and seek independence.
Roosevelt’s administration believed this was the best idea. So they financially supported
a revolt and recognized Panama as a sovereign nation. Roosevelt would have his land, a
ten-mile wide tract across the Isthmus of Panama.
Objective: Students will be able to identify the reasons for the Panama Canal in order to
analyze primary and secondary sources.
Warm Up: Roosevelt once said, “I wish to see the United States the dominant power on
the shores of the Pacific Ocean.” What do you think he meant by this? Do you think the
United States is currently the “dominant power on the shores of the Pacific Ocean”?
Why or why not?
Direct Instruction: Students will participate in a class discussion to review the reading
that was annotated for homework.
Possible Discussion Questions
1. Who was Ferdinand de Lesseps?
2. What similarities did he have with Theodore Roosevelt?
3. Why were they despised? What does it mean to be despised? What do these
characteristics mean? Craftiness, self-glorification.
4. How did Roosevelt’s vision for the Panama Canal differ from others?
5. Who was Alfred Thayer Mahan?
Independent Practice: Students will read pg. 255 from The Path Between the Seas and
write a paragraph answering the following prompt, according to Roosevelt, what is the
difference between expansionism and imperialism? Use evidence from the text to
support your response.
Guided Practice: Students will answer questions while watching American Experience:
The Panama Canal. Start at 12:12 and stop at 16:15.
1. Why did the Columbians reject the offer from the United States?
2. What were Roosevelt’s options after the Columbians rejected their offer?
3. How did the Panamanians achieve independence? What role did the United
States play?
4. Do you consider Roosevelt and the United States actions to be arrogant? Why
or why not?
Homework: Read and annotate pages 1-3 of Make the Dirt Fly! by Rose van Hardeveld
and be prepared to discuss in class.
Lesson 3:
Overview: The work force in Panama was about one-fifth American, and the rest West
Indian. The workers faced horrendous conditions both on the job and in their quarters.
This was before there were any safety regulations. Worker fatalities became so common
that a railroad line was built directly into a cemetery to save time. Besides the dangers of
working with heavy equipment, rocks, and explosions, workers also faced outbreaks of
yellow fever and malaria.
Objective: Students will be able to use a poetry template in order to identify setting,
theme, and tone of Poems written about the workers of the Panama Canal.
Warm Up: What are some of the dangers associated with working construction? What
methods are used to make construction safer?
Direct Instruction: Students will participate in a Socratic Seminar to review the reading
that was annotated for homework.
Possible Discussion Questions:
1. The text starts with the quote, “In America, anything is possible.” Why did
Jan van Hardeveld would feel this way about the United States in 1906? Do
you think this quote is valid today?
2. Using evidence from the text, describe the conditions of the camp.
3. Why was the dirt not flying according to the author?
4. What were the stores like in their town?
5. What made Jan wonder how his family would look in the near future?
Guided Practice: Students and teacher will read a poem titled, The “Rough-Neck” Breed
by John Hall. The teacher will define any vocabulary that the students may no know.
After reading the poem, the teacher will lead as the students fill out a poetry template that
is included in the student resource section of the plan. The template asks for theme,
setting, tone, and other elements of poetry.
Small Group Instruction: Students will work in small groups. They will be given another
poem. Each group will receive a different poem. They will read and annotate the poem
as well as fill out a poetry template, one per group. They will then turn the template into
a PowerPoint Presentation to present their poem to the class. The poems that will be used
for this assignment are Price of Empire, We’re Diggin th’ Ditch Together, To the “Big
Ditch”, and When the Ditch is Dug.
Homework: Students will read and annotate pgs. 62-69 of The Canal Builders by Julie
Greene.
Lesson 4:
Overview: How the workers struggled throughout construction of the canal is a main
focus of this unit. This activity is the culminating assessment for the previous lessons
regarding the struggles of the workers. I expect students to use all sources as material to
create their own first person journal/diary entries.
Objective: Students will be able identify the struggles of the workers in order to write a
first person narrative.
Warm Up: Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the gold and silver system of
the Panama Canal and the system of segregation in the south.
Direct Instruction: Students will participate in a Socratic Seminar to review the reading
that was annotated for homework.
Possible Discussion Questions:
1. Why did a system of segregation develop in the Panama Canal Zone?
2. According to the text, what inequalities existed in the Panama Canal Zone?
3. Who determined what group a person was placed?
4. Why did the engineers start to change the hiring practices for the Panama
Canal Zone?
After the discussion about their reading, transition the discussion to yellow fever.
Students will take notes on the symptoms of yellow fever and other outbreaks that have
occurred.
Students will then watch PBS American Experience: The Panama Canal from 41:0049:15 and discuss the impact of yellow fever of the Panama Canal Zone and how Dr.
Gorgas extinguished the epidemic from the area.
Individual Assessment: Students will write a series of journals using information from
John Hall’s ballads and poems, the accounts of the yellow fever epidemic, Rose van
Hardelveld’s account of life in the Panama Canal Zone, and the reading of the
inequalities of the gold and silver system. Students will continue to work on the journals
throughout the conclusion of the Unit. I did not include a rubric because I think rubrics
should be designed with your specific class in mind.
Lesson 5:
Overview: The purpose of this lesson is to examine the engineering and construction
techniques that made the Panama Canal possible. Students will look at the newly
developed lock system that allowed the Canal builders to use elevated areas rather than
blast through the mountains. Students will also examine the methods that were used to
clear away the tons of dirt that needed to be removed during construction.
Objective: Students will be able to analyze the problems encountered during construction
and how they were solved. Students will be able to define empire and assess how the
Panama Canal contributed to America’s empire.
Warm Up: What has been the most important invention during your lifetime? Why do
you think this?
Direct Instruction: Students will create a list of potential problems that the canal project
may encounter during construction. While the students brainstorming, project a map of
the area, this may help them. While they are creating a list, ask questions that will help
spark a response. For example, “What types of problems can a local construction project
face? The list should ultimately include: strikes, equipment breakdown, removal of dirt,
changes in elevation.
After the students create a list, the teacher should go through the list and explain each
problem specifically to the canal and how it was solved.
Students will then watch the animation demonstration of the lock system used on the
Panama Canal. This can be found at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/panama/ .
Students will then engage in a Think-Pair-Share and contemplate the questions, Is the
United States an empire? Why or why not? What is the United States role in the world
today?
Independent Practice: Students will write a paragraph explaining the lock system of the
Panama Canal based on what they saw in the animation.
Homework: Write a paragraph giving your definition of empire and explain how the
Panama Canal impacted America.
Annotated Bibliography
1. "American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 19
Feb. 2015.
This documentary gives a great overview of the political background, the struggles, and
the engineering feats of the Panama Canal project. It also contains interviews from
workers on the project, which give insight to the dangers that they faced. This
documentary can be used as a supplemental or it can be integrated into the lesson.
2. Bradley, James. The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War. New York:
Little, Brown, 2009. Print.
Bradley’s book provides information on the expansionist view of Theodore Roosevelt.
The book outlines Roosevelt’s plan to expand the United States sphere on influence into
all regions of the Asia. This way of thinking provides more insight on why the Panama
Canal was considered so important in the eyes of the President.
3. Greene, Julie. The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal.
New York: Penguin, 2009. Print.
Green’s book provides excellent insight into the lives of the workers. The information on
the gold and silver classes is excellent and will be read by the students.
4. Hall, John. Panama Roughneck Ballads. Panama and Canal Zone: A. Lindo, Panama
Railroad News Agency, 1912. Print.
John Hall’s ballads and poems give a first hand account of the roughnecks thoughts and
hardships during the construction of the Panama Canal.
5. Mahr, Van Hardeveld Rose. Make the Dirt Fly! Hollywood, CA: Pan, 1956. Print.
This memoir gives a first hand account of what life was like in the Canal Zone. Rose is
the wife of a worker on the Canal.
6. McCullough, David G. The Path between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama
Canal, 1870-1914. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1977. Print.
This source provides background on the U.S.S. Maine and the Military opinions on its
impact. The text relates these opinions to Roosevelt’s opinion on the Panama Canal.
7. Parker, Matthew. Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human
Achievements of All Time--the Building of the Panama Canal. New York: Doubleday,
2007. Print.
Parker’s book shows the engineering aspect of the canal. This information will allow the
teacher to provide exact information to their students on the engineering feats of the
canal.
Teacher Resources
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 19 Feb.
2015.
Bradley, James. The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War. New York:
Little, Brown, 2009. Print.
Greene, Julie. The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal. New
York: Penguin, 2009. Print.
Hall, John. Panama Roughneck Ballads. Panama and Canal Zone: A. Lindo, Panama
Railroad News Agency, 1912. Print.
Mahr, van Hardeveld Rose. Make the Dirt Fly! Hollywood, CA: Pan, 1956. Print.
McCullough, David G. The Path between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal,
1870-1914. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1977. Print.
Parker, Matthew. Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human
Achievements of All Time--the Building of the Panama Canal. New York: Doubleday,
2007. Print.
"Smithsonian Institution Libraries: Make the Dirt Fly!" Smithsonian Institution Libraries:
Make the Dirt Fly! N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June 2015.
Student Resources
PoetryAnalysisFormat Usethefollowingpatterninyouranalysisofyourownpoem.
Categories
Title:Whatisthe
significanceofthe
title?
Summary:Writea
paragraphorso
summarizingthe
events/emotions
discussedinthe
poem.
Setting:Whatis
thesettingofthe
poem?
Speaker:Whois
theperson“telling”
thepoem?What
attitudedoesthe
speakerhave?
Whataretheylike?
Useexamplesto
supportyourclaim.
**Please
rememberthatif
thevoiceofthe
Example
poemsays"I",that
doesn'tmeanitis
theauthorwhois
speaking!
Audience:Whois thespeaker
speakingto?How
doyouknow?
Tone:Whatisthe overallmoodofthe
poem?What
examplesfromthe
textsupportyour
claim?Wheredo
youseethetone
shift?
Theme:Whatdo
youthinkisthe
author’smessage
ofthepoem?What
doeshe/shewant
thereaderto
believeor
understandafter
reading?
Panama Canal Journal/Letter Writing Project
Directions: For this project you will take on the role of a Rough-neck, who is working on
the Panama Canal project. You will write three journal entries, one page in length, the
journal entries will give a description of what life was like for a worker on the Panama
Canal. Some possible topics to explore are yellow fever, gold and silver system, living
conditions, death, weather, and working conditions.
Content Standards
Social Studies Standards
CC.8.5.6-8.A: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary
sources.
CC.8.5.6-8.D: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
CC.8.5.6-8.G: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos,
or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CC.8.5.6-8.F: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose
(e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
CC.8.6.6-8.B: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical
events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CC.8.6.6-8.G: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using
search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or
paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a
standard format for citation.
Literacy Standards
CC.1.3.8.A: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over
the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot;
provide an objective summary of the text.
CC.1.3.8.B Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the
text says explicitly, as well as inferences, conclusions, and/or generalizations drawn from
the text.